


i fell in love in the morning

by laurabeth



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Crash Landing, Falling In Love, Fluff, Getting Together, Keith isn't bad at emotions anymore, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Trans Female Pidge | Katie Holt, Trans Male Keith (Voltron), broganes, everyone is some form of LGBT because I am not a coward, forgot to write in krolia!! whoops!!, love them!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 12:50:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15510276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurabeth/pseuds/laurabeth
Summary: They crash landed onto a planet where it is always morning, regardless of the actual time. Lance suffered a shot to his arm and they were running out of food and water. It was critical that they be saved by the team, but the Castle ship was down, as well their comms. Lance and Keith resort to passing the time by talking. Keith didn't realize how much he could enjoy just talking.(Or: Lance and Keith fall in love while stranded on a planet where it is always morning.)





	i fell in love in the morning

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written right after season 6 came out, so it's a little choppy, sorry! This is actually a repost from my other ao3 account because I have switched accounts and wanted to have this fic on here, as I am really proud of it. The original work is still posted on my old account, so if you find another copy that is why. The inspiration and tittle for this fic comes from the song "Winter" by Khalid, which is one of my absloute favorite songs. Enjoy!!

Keith couldn’t believe that this was happening to him. He was spiraling out of control in the sky, the planet below them becoming closer and closer every second. Keith was panicking. He struggled to keep his eyes open, glancing out of his windows as much as possible. Was that Lance’s lion? Keith wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or terrified that Lance was also falling.

They had been fighting a battle that they had gotten terribly caught up in. Shiro had just been revived and they had left the planet they had been on, planning on starting the long journey back to Earth. The castle ship had been destroyed in an effort to save the universe. This meant that the paladins had no backup in this fight, just them and their lions. Keith had felt a little pessimistic at the possible outcome of this battle. They had just ended the biggest battle they had ever experienced. The whole team was exhausted. But then it had gotten worse.

The Galra backup fleet had come out of nowhere. The fleet swiftly locked onto their lions as targets, wasting no time on firing them out of the sky. This was the result. Keith tried to breath as evenly as possible. The planet was sure to be close, he was sure to be crashing soon. He braced himself for impact just in time. Black crashed into the surface of the planet, Keith tossed forcefully out his seat. There was a loud ringing in his ears, his head felt like it was going to split open. A large groaning noise came from somewhere, probably from his lion. Keith allowed himself a few minutes to try to recollect himself before trying to free himself from the constraints of his pilot seat.

It was a struggle, but he eventually managed to get himself out of the pilot’s seat. He crawled out of his lion, trying not to grimace too much. He was fine, dammit. Black seemed to be unresponsive. Keith slipped his helmet on, it had come off in the fall and crash. His comms seemed to be down, too. Keith wondered if they were connected to his lion. He climbed out of his lion, trying to survey the external damage. Keith gazed up to the sky, trying to see if the fighting was continuing. He couldn’t see anything. Standing on the side of his lion, he looked around. The planet was a lot like a desert. No civilization was in sight, no grass, no lakes or anything. Keith sighed, rubbing a hand down the side of his face. This was not looking good.

Keith turned to the opposite side, bringing his hand up to his brow to block the sunlight. He hadn’t even been on this planet for ten minutes and he was already sweating. He noticed the red lion on its side as well. Red looked as dead as his own lion. Keith carefully made his way down the side of his lion and trekked over to the red lion, crawling in through the mouth.

“Lance?” Keith called, wandering into the cockpit. “Can you hear me?”

Keith heard Lance groan. His heart rate quickly sped up. This was not good. “Lance?” Keith called again, rushing into the cockpit. He no longer cared if the lion was unstable, desperate to get to Lance. “I’m here, are you okay? Can you hear me?” Keith’s eyes found Lance, he was strapped into his pilot seat. His body was hanging out just like Keith’s had been. Red had crashed on her side, causing Lance to be supported by the side of the chair.

“Hurts,” whimpered Lance, “Help.”

Keith waded through the supplies that had fallen out during the crash, trying to get to Lance as fast as possible. “Where does it hurt?” Keith couldn’t see any external injuries from here, but he didn’t doubt that Lance could be seriously hurt. Finally, he made it to Lance’s side, kneeling on the wall, which was acting as the ground. Keith inspected Lance, trying not to gasp when he took in Lance’s left arm. It was bloody, his armor clearly hiding the worst of the injury.

“My arm,” Lance said, his eyes squeezing shut when he tried to move his left arm. “I think it might be really bad. I got caught in some crossfire.” Keith remembered hearing the commotion over his comms. Everyone but him and Shiro had gone inside the Galra’s ship. They were trying to extract some information that was critical to them getting home; find the best way home. They didn’t have the castle anymore, meaning they were completely directionless. The information was their only way home. Unfortunately, the mission was unsuccessful. Shiro had ordered them to all get back to their lions. Lance must have gotten caught in battle before he made it back. Everyone had just made it into their lions by the time the backup fleet had arrived and started shooting.

“Let me try to get you out,” Keith said, moving to unbuckle Lance’s seat belt. “I need you to hold wrap your arm around my shoulders, that way I can move you to the ground without you falling too much. Okay?” Lance nodded, moving his right arm around Keith’s shoulders. Keith undid the clasp on his belt, speedily moving his arm under Lance’s legs. He heard Lance hiss as his arm was jostled. “Don’t worry, almost there.” Keith moved Lance so that he rested against the wall, allowing him to lean back.

“Thanks,” Lance panted, the shift from seat to floor had obviously taken a lot out of him. “Do you know what time it is?”

Keith shook his head. “No clue,” He didn’t have a watch on him and his helmet, which usually displayed the time, was still down. “But it is really bright outside. It isn’t too hot though, so I would probably guess that it’s late morning.” Lance nodded, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes.

“Are our comms working at all? I know my lion is down, I’m sure yours is too,” Lance asked. His voice sounded more raspy than usual. Keith wondered if he had been yelling during battle or screaming as his lion fell.

“My comms aren’t working, so I’m sure yours aren’t either,” Keith sighed. “I think we’re just going to have to wait for the team to find us. But let’s see if we can fix you up while we’re waiting.”

Lance nodded, his eyes still shut. Keith moved so that he was directly in front of Lance. “I’m sorry in advance if this hurts,” Keith said, his hands coming to rest by Lance’s injury. It was still bleeding, but it the blood flow was starting to slow. He went to unbuckle Lance’s breastplate. It would be easier to see the damage if it was off and Keith was sure that Lance would be more comfortable without the extra weight on his chest. Keith started to carefully pull the breastplate off of his chest, moving slowly and pausing briefly every time that Lance’s breath hitched.

“I’m sorry,” Keith said again. It was killing him to see Lance in so much pain. He knew that it was really bothering him, even if he wasn’t complaining too much about it. Finally, he managed to get it over Lance’s head, quickly resting it on the floor of the red lion. The wound was bloody and gory. It was clearly from a laser blaster, probably one much like Lance’s. There really wasn’t much that Keith could do for Lane except to keep him comfortable and try to find some medical supplies. “Feeling any better?”

“Not yet,” Lance gave a weak smile, his eyes once again opening. His eyes locked onto Keith’s. Keith could tell that he was in pain, he could see how tired Lance was and how bothersome his shoulder must have been. He tried to give him a reassuring smile. Keith was going to get them out of this alive, no matter what.

*

Noon never came on the planet. Never.

Keith knew for certain that hours had passed. He always had a knack for knowing what time it was, regardless of when he last looked at a clock. But it had been hours and the sun had remained present in the sky, in the same position as before. It continued to be mid-morning.

Lance had fallen asleep an hour or two ago. Keith was glad to see him resting. He had found a medical-kit somewhere in the tousled belongings of red. He used the gauze and ointment. Hopefully an infection wouldn’t form.

Keith scoured the lions for more medical supplies and food, as well as water. He found only a few days worth. The others would have to find them soon. Keith didn’t want to think about what might happen if they weren’t found.

He took the time that he had to examine their surroundings on the same planet. Keith couldn’t even remember the name of the planet, or the galaxy they were in. He should start paying attention more, it would be kind of pathetic to die on a planet he didn’t know the name of in a galaxy he couldn’t name.

It was still desert and it was still sandy. The planet showed no signs of food resources. Even worse than that, there was no place that Keith could find to get water. Maybe there would be more farther away, but he was hesitant to leave Lance completely alone, injured and asleep. Keith sighed.

Things were not looking good.

*

Eight hours passed and the sun remained the same. Keith, on the other hand, became even more restless and agitated.

“Dude, come on,” Lance said from his perch on the floor. He had been getting on Keith’s case about pacing. “You’re just walking around. The more you walk, the more calories you burn. The more calories you burn, the more food you will have to eat in order to replenish the lost calories. The more food you eat the less food we have. You’re slowly killing me with your pacing. I’ll have no food rations all because of your stupid pacing.”

“Lance, for the last time,” Keith near-growled. He was tired of this argument. Let him pace and brood, for goodness’ sake. “I’m not burning any excessive calories. I’ll be perfectly fine and you are affected in no way.”

“Just take a break,” Lance whined, patting the floor next to him. “Let’s just talk or something. I’m bored.”

Keith stopped pacing and turned towards him, crossing his arms. “What do you want to talk about?” Lance shrugged.

“I don’t know, anything really,” He said, patting the floor once more. Keith sighed and gave up, coming to sit besides Lance on the ground. “I feel like I know you the least. I know we’ve only been a part of Voltron for a few months, but we really don’t know that much about each other.”

Keith scoffed. “We know about each other! I know that you’re from Cuba, you have six siblings and a mom. You love your cousins like they were your own siblings and you have wanted to be a pilot since you were 7 years old. See? I know plenty about you.”

“Maybe so,” Lance said, raising an eyebrow. Keith had no idea where he got this energy from. The guy’s arm was shot, for crying out loud. “But I overshare. Plus, I can assure you that everyone else knows way more about me than you do. And I hardly know you! You never talk to me.”

“Well some of us aren’t open books, Lance,” Keith retorts, eyes glaring at the ground. “I don’t share that much. What’s the point? This whole Voltron thing is probably going to be over soon anyways. We’ll be back on Earth soon enough and you won’t see me that much.” Keith tried to ignore how much it hurt to say that.

“What’s the point?” Lance asked, sounding bewildered. “Why do you read Keith? You read to visit other places, to learn about different experiences. Sure, you’re going to finish the book, but you get to enjoy yourself while you learn about those characters and places. It may be over at some point, but your life was enriched with that knowledge. And then it stays with you.”

“I guess,” Keith said, thinking it over. Nobody ever really cared to learn about him. It was from one foster home to the next. He was only ever in one for months at a time, it was pointless to get attached. Shiro was one of the only people who ever made an effort to know Keith. He only allowed it because he knew that they would be stuck together at the Garrison for a while. At least, that was the plan. He looked up, eyes resting on Lance’s resting arm. His mom learned a lot about him in the two years they were stuck together, but it took him forever to open up to her. He didn’t want to just open up to Lance for no reason. “It just isn’t something I do. Nobody has ever really bothered.”

“Well, I’m bothering,” Lance said, catching Keith’s eye and smirking. “And we both know how good I am at that.”

*  
Lance had fallen asleep again after their talk. Keith had actually shared a lot with Lance, stuff that he didn’t often share with people. He told him about foster care, about moving and changing schools every few months. He talked about the isolation that he had felt ever since he could remember. He didn’t know why he told Lance all of this. It wasn’t like him at all. But he guessed it had something to do with what Lance had said earlier. What was the point of life if you didn’t share it with anyone? He would have to work on that. Maybe it would be okay for more people to truly know him.

Keith laid down on the ground across from Lance. He laid on his left side, his folded arm supporting his head. He was trying to keep Lance in his sights as much as possible. Even if he wasn’t actively looking at him, he was going to be protecting him. Keith knew he should be getting some sleep, he was sure that he had been awake for around 20 hours. Keith may be an insomniac, but even he had his limits. Lance was practically dependent on him now. He had to take care of himself so he could be there for his teammate. Keith sighed. Lance wasn’t just a teammate to him anymore, he might as well as be honest with himself. Keith burrowed his head into the crook of his elbow. This wasn’t going end well for him. No matter what.

His crushes never worked out. The boy in 5th grade ended up bullying him for the remainder of the school year. All the rest in middle school and high school never found out, but he was still relentlessly teased. He doubted that Lance would tease him or make him feel bad for having a crush on him, he didn’t seem like the type of person. But the crush would never work out for a multitude of reasons. For one, Lance was probably straight. Keith really didn’t know him too well, he could be into guys. But he didn’t know for certain, he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Even if Lance did like guys it would be even more improbable for Lance to be into Keith. Keith was like the polar opposite of Lance, he must want somebody who is similar to him, regardless of his sexuality. Most people didn’t find want to be with a person constantly contradicting them. Keith had never really imagined himself with someone in a serious way. He always saw himself having flings, never somebody that would stay around. Nobody to have and to hold. Just him and himself. And he was okay with that. He didn’t need people. There was no point in loving someone if they only left.

Keith tucked his head further into his elbow, drawing his legs up even closer to himself. He refused to allow the few tears in his eyes to fall. He would not cry over this, dammit.

He had never felt so alone.

*

Keith awoke to the sun still burning in the same spot above them. Lance was standing, tinkering with their rations. But he was standing! Something he should not be doing in his condition.

“What do you think your doing?” Keith asked, quickly sitting up, startling Lance.

“Dude, warn a guy next time,” Lance said, chuckling easily and turning back to the food and water pouches. “Want some? Really delicious food on the menu today.”

“Hilarious,” Keith dead-panned. “You shouldn’t be standing. You need to be resting!”

“You sound like my mom, calm down,” Lance replied. “I needed to move. I promise I did it carefully.”

“You should’ve woken me up for help, what if you had gotten hurt and injured yourself even more?” Keith responded, glaring at Lance as he walked over to him and the food. He took a water pouch for himself, angrily stabbing the straw through the plastic.

“Then I would’ve screamed really loud until you woke up, duh,” Lance said, sipping on his own water pouch. “I obviously had a great plan. Don’t underestimate me.”

“That’s a terrible plan,” Keith said, finally giving in and allowing himself a small chuckle.

Lance shrugged. “I never claimed it was a great plan. I just said that I had one.”

Keith locked eyes with him, trying to give a small, earnest smile. “Fair enough.”

Lance returned the smile briefly, his expression then dropping. “Do you think we stand a chance of surviving? They have no clue where we are. They might never find us.”

Keith dropped his gaze to the ground, fiddling with his water pouch and trying to think of ways to reassure Lance. Did he think that they stood an actual chance of surviving on a planet with little resources and no way out? No, he didn’t. This planet was a terrible place to be stuck at. There was no night time, it was always morning. It never cooled down. The temperature was almost constantly the same and the desert gave them little resources. Sure, Keith had lived in a desert before, but he had had access to plumbing and food, as well as communication devices if he needed it. They had none of that here. They were practically doomed. But Keith couldn’t say that. He was far healthier than Lance was at this moment. Keith knew that he had to stay as positive as possible. If not for himself, then for Lance.

“They might be able to track us. They weren’t too far when we started to crash, they might start to look soon. It’s only been a few days, there may be other problems they have to solve first before they come to find us.”

Lance nodded, looking more glum than before. “So, what do you want to do today?”  
Keith stared at him for a minute. “What do you mean? There’s nothing to do here?”

“Don’t you think I’ve noticed that?” Lance said. “That’s why we gotta figure out things to do! We’ve done nothing the past few days, we gotta do something before I die of boredom.”

“I don’t think you’ll die of boredom, Lance,” Keith scoffed. “I do think that you might die of infection if you do something with that injury too quickly. We’re not going to do anything strenuous.”

“So we’re not going to do anything fun, you mean,” Lance mutters. “Why do you get decide what I do or don’t do, huh? I’m an adult, I can make my own decisions.”

“You’re hurt, Lance,” Keith grumbled. “You might want to pretend like everything is fine you’re alright but you’re not. You need to act like it.”

“Why do you even care so much, can’t you just let me live?” Lance gruffed, he stood up taller and appeared more angry than Keith thought he was.

“I am letting you live!” Keith retorted. “I’m protecting your stupid ass so that you can continue to live!”

Lance appeared momentarily shocked before he responded. “Why do you care so much?” He repeated, watching Keith to gauge his reaction.

“I care because you’re my teammate. Why wouldn’t I?” Keith admitted, his eyes making contact with Lance’s, shocked to see the expression on his face. He almost looked upset.

“That’s it? You’re acting a little overprotective for just a teammate.” Lance said, finally coming to sit down next to Keith on the ground. Keith was relieved that he was finally sitting down. It may not make a huge difference, but it was helping him to conserve his energy just a little bit.

“The team would kill me if anything happened to you,” Keith said. “You’re like the glue that holds everything together. Without you, the team would fall apart.”

“I think you’re the only one who feels like that,” Lance laughed sadly. “You’re the only one who actually takes notice of me. Before you came back, everyone was paired off. Allura was always with Lotor, Pidge and Hunk were practically inseparable, and Coran and Shiro were always talking about missions and strategies. Nobody really paid any attention to me.”

Keith’s face fell when he heard that. He had no clue that anyone had been doing that. “Well, I’m sure it wasn’t intentional. I’m back now, Lotor’s gone, it should start being better,” Keith tried to reassure Lance. “I’m back now.” He repeated, softer.

“I don’t care if it was intentional or not,” Lance said, his voice starting to sound hoarse. Keith wondered if he was close to crying. “They still ignored me. Pidge and Hunk even started to make fun of me.”

“Why would they do that?” Keith asked, trying to figure out if something had happened between them that he didn’t know about.

Lance shrugged. “I guess they just found my crush on Allura hilarious. It wasn’t funny, Allura was always off with Lotor. I was kind of crushed. Ha, crushed.” Lance attempted to laugh at the small pun.

Keith knew the feeling. Even though Lance wasn’t even dating Allura, Keith still felt jealousy spike at his words. Yes, Lance was totally allowed to have feelings for other people, Keith knew this, but it still hurt to hear. It was just a constant reminder that even though Keith liked Lance, his feelings would probably never be returned. Keith swallowed. He better start getting used to it. If he was going to be back on team Voltron for the long run, he was going to be seeing a lot more of Lance. And probably hearing a lot more about his crush on Allura, or anymore that might happen over the course of their time in Voltron.

Lance continued. “It didn’t even matter that I was starting to get over my crush on her. I think I have a crush on somebody else, anyways. I just felt really alone and then they decided to make fun of me. It wasn’t even teasing, just straight up laughing at me.” Lance’s eyes were still downcast. Keith wasn’t sure what he should do. Should he pat him on his back? He seriously had no experience with touching people first. He never touched people first. If he even touched people it would be because they initiated the contact. The only time that had been different was when Lance had been injured. And Lance didn’t even remember that. Keith’s arm raised off of his knee, hesitating in the air. He gave himself a few seconds to prepare himself before he placed his hand on Lance’s shoulder. Lance raised his head for a minute, quickly smiling at Keith before he looked back to the ground.

“I’m sorry they did that,” Keith said, trying to be as soft as possible. “Maybe they didn’t realize how insensitive they were being. I can talk to them when we get back if you want.”

Lance started to shift, turning himself so that his shoulder pressed up against Keith’s. Keith dropped his hand from Lance’s shoulder, trying to instruct himself on how to breathe properly again.

Lance laughed slightly. “No, thanks,” Lance said. “That would only make things awkward. Plus then I’ll get loads of questions about who I might like now. That’s a wormhole I don’t want to get into quite yet.”

“Why not?” Keith asked. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I get that it might be personal.”  
“Wow, you’re being so kind for such a fiesty guy, Mullet,” Lance said. Keith swatted at him when he called him mullet. “What changed?”

“I’m trying this new thing where I try to talk about my feelings,” Keith explained. “Being alone with your mother who left you for two years does that to a person. I had to learn how to talk openly.”

“Huh,” Lance said. “Looking forward to seeing how that treats you, dude. But back to me liking someone. They, uh, might be a guy. First time for everything, right?” Lance chuckled slightly, it sounded forced and tense to Keith.

Keith watched as Lance rung his hands nervously. “You know there’s nothing wrong with that, right?” Keith figured Lance was probably freaking out, as he usually did. He sometimes got so caught up in being afraid of other people’s opinions that he often forgot that the only person’s opinion that truly mattered was his own.

“Yeah, sure,” Lance breathed. “But it’s all so scary. What will everyone think? And it’s all so sudden. It’s like I had this whole side to myself that I never even knew existed. I’m drowning in all these feelings that I didn’t even realize I had. And then there’s a whole galactic war on top of that, I don’t exactly have time for an identity crisis right now.”

Keith chuckled. “That’s why I had my identity crisis before we came to space. I guess I’ll just always beat you at some things, Lance.” He joked, hoping that Lance would pick up on that.

“You too?” Lance laughed breathlessly. “And you know that the whole rivialy wasn’t ever really a rivalry, right? I just wanted your attention.”

“Yeah, I know,” Keith assured him, laughing a little too. “You’re not the only one, you have to know that by now, right?”

“Of course I know that now.” Lance expressed. “You just told me you’re not straight either, like literally a minute ago.”

“You really are dense,” Keith said fondly. “Pidge isn’t cis, me neither, Shiro’s bisexual and Coran is clearly gay. Have you seen how he flirts with all the guy aliens? It’s hilarious. It even works sometimes, it’s wild.”

“W-What?” Lance stammered.

“Buddy,” Keith said, spelling it out for him. “You’ve been living in a spaceship with a bunch of non-straight and non-cis people, we’re basically a GSA spaceship, saving the galaxy one gay fight at a time.”

“No way,” Lance said, obviously shocked. “Run me through that one more time?”

Keith laughed. “Me and Coran are gay, me and Pidge are trans, Shiro is gay, so is his fiance back at the Garrison. And those are just who I know about. Nobody is gonna care if you aren’t straight, the majority isn’t either.” Keith looked into Lance’s eyes, his eyes softening when he saw how relieved Lance truly looked. “You don’t have to worry. We’ll always support you, Lance.”

“Thank you,” Lance said, cleary trying not to cry. Keith smiled, smiling even brighter when Lance returned it.

*

Another day passed, well, as much as another day could pass on this planet. It was still morning. Keith guessed that it was just going to stay morning the whole duration that they were there. It was day 3 of being stuck. Lance’s arm had started to heal even more, but Keith was still weary of what could go wrong.

On the subject of Lance, Keith had noticed that he started acting a little weird around him, like getting flustered and excusing himself to another part of the ship. Which was kind of pointless, as Red was only so big and there was only so many things one could pretend to do on the different parts of the ship. Keith just let him have his space, figuring that Lance would tell him what was going on sooner or later.

Keith was struggling to try to keep his crush hidden. He was sure that Lance was dense but he wasn’t sure how dense he truly was. But that was that was really the smallest of his worries. They were running out of food, and more importantly, water. Humans could not survive without water, Keith knew this, especially if they were as injured as Lance was. Keith hoped that the others would find them soon. Without the castle, it was probably taking longer than usual. Their lions still weren’t working. Keith was still desperate and clinging to his small amount of remaining hope.

*

It was the middle of the night. Well, it was the middle of what Keith had declared the night cycle. It was hard to determine when it was really night on a planet that was constantly stuck in morning. Keith had forced Lance to go to sleep, insisting that he needed to sleep as much as possible since he was injured. Lance fought for a minute before grudgingly giving in and settling down on the opposite side of the lion’s cockpit. Keith slept on his side, turned towards Lance. He tried to refrain from staring at him in his sleep, it was creepy, but there was only so many things to look at. But Keith had finally fallen asleep, only to be woken up by Lance’s screaming in the middle of the night.

“Lance,” Keith said, quickly getting to his feet and racing over to Lance’s side. “Lance, wake up.” Keith took notice of his feverish skin and the way he was unconsciously grasping his injured shoulder. Keith didn’t want to shake him awake, it might make his pain worse. Keith didn’t want do anything that could even risk hurting Lance. “Lance, please, wake up!” He continued to call for Lance, his hands coming to rest on his stomach, his eyes fluttering over Lance’s body, fearing that he had an infection. Finally, Lance came to. His eyes opened, wide and fearful as he locked onto Keith’s figure hovering over him.

“W-What’s happening?” He breathed, eyes slipping closed as his brow furrowed in pain. Keith’s face mirrored his, his pain for a different reason than Lance’s. “My arm, i-it’s killing me.” He gasped in pain as Keith’s hand instinctively went to his injured shoulder. “Sorry!” Keith gasped out, moving his arm far away from Lance’s body. “I don’t know what’s happening, you were fine yesterday!”

“It’s burning!” Lance’s eyes opened again and Keith could see his eyes welling with tears. His heart ached, his brain tried to come up with a solution to what was happening to Lance. He needed to do something, quick. Lance might die if he didn’t, he didn’t know how bad the infection could be or how quickly it would spread.

“Stay put, I’ll look for more medicine,” Keith said, quickly standing up and riffling for more medicine in the places that they had already checked. He hoped that there would be some more, prayed that they had forgotten to check some place and there would be more medicine to save Lance. He dug through the compartments, finding one bottle of pills. Keith quickly grabbed the bottle, closing his eyes and sending a grateful thank you out into the vastness of the universe.

Keith rushed back over to Lance, grabbing one of their last pouches of water and trying to usher him into a upright position. Lance whined, but he tried to use his uninjured arm to push himself up.

“I found more pills, do you think you can swallow them?” Keith asked, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. There was no sense in making Lance more afraid than he already was. Lance nodded, his complexation still flushed and burning. Keith shook the maximum amount of pills into his hand. “Open up, I’m gonna put them into your mouth,” Keith said, trying to make this process as easy as possible on Lance. Lance’s mouth opened and Keith gave him the pills, quickly opening the water pouch and inserting the straw into Lance’s mouth. “You got it.” He said, trying to encourage Lance. He wouldn’t let Lance die on his watch, he couldn’t. There were so close to going home. Lance’s family had to see him again, Lance had to see them again. Keith wouldn’t allow Lance to die.

He slowly maneuvered Lance back to the floor, Keith still hovering over him. Keith closed his eyes, silently allowing the tears to fall. This couldn’t be happening. Lance couldn’t die.

*

The next few hours passed in a painful blur for both boys. Keith was glued to Lance’s side, constantly trying to get his fever to break and keeping him up to date on his medication. Keith wasn’t really religious but that was the most he had ever prayed in his life. Lance needed to make it through. He had to.

Keith glanced outside, staring past the sandy dunes and the few plants. He looked right into the sun, the one that refused to move. It was always morning here, resisting movement. Keith glared at it. Why couldn’t it move? Why couldn’t it be normal and just do what it was supposed to do? His eyes moved back to Lance, scanning for any thing that could have changed in his condition. Why did they have to get stuck on this stupid planet? Why couldn’t he have been the one that had gotten hurt? He had less to lose than Lance.

*

Keith had nearly given up hope. It had nearly been a day since Lance woke up in pain. The medicine was running low once again. Keith was the most hopeless that he had ever been in his life.

Lance had been fitfully asleep for most of the time. Keith did not envy his sleep oe bit, as exhausted as he was. Lance’s expression was always in pain, Keith knew that Lance was plagued with his pain and unrest even in his unconscious state.

Keith hadn’t eaten or slept in almost a day, he was drained. But he would not leave Lance’s side. He allowed himself to brush Lance’s hair out of his eyes. Keith grapsed Lance’s hand on his uninjured arm. He was trying to ground himself as much as possible. He needed to be as close to Lance as possible, he couldn’t lose him, he  
lose him.

Suddenly, a loud sound came from outside. Keith jumped, dropping Lance’s hand and surveying what could have caused the noise outside. Keith stood, walking towards the window. He was shocked when he saw the blue lion landing, as well as the green and yellow lions. They had found them. Lance would be able to be saved.

Keith raced outside of the red lion, waving his arms as frantically as possible. He knew that they probably saw him but he was too paranoid to care that he looked stupid waving them down. Allura and Coran raced out of Blue while Shiro, Pidge, and Hunk emerged from green and yellow.

“Keith,” Allura yelled, running the short distance to him. “Where’s Lance?”

He gestured to the red lion behind him. “He’s sleeping in there, he has a terrible infection and has been out of it for the past day or so.” He knew he sounded frantic, but he needed them to understand how bad this was. Lance was on the brink of death, they needed to act fast.

“Let’s go,” Shiro said grimly, setting off into the red lion. Keith led them to where Lance was laying. He looked worse than he did moments before Keith had left.

“He got shot before we got stranded. He took a turn for the worse yesterday night. We ran out of food and medicine, he needs a healing pod as soon as possible,” Keith explained, eyes raking over Lance’s feverish frame.

“I’ll contact an allied planet as soon as possible, I’m sure someone close by will have the tech we need,” Coran said, turning and walking to the front of red’s mouth to start calling planets.

Keith crouched down by Lance’s side again, finding a place close to Allura. She was holding a scanner over Lance’s injured shoulder, assessing the damage that he had suffered. Keith gripped Lance’s hand again. He startled when Lance made a noise, clenching his hand tighter around Keith’s.

“He has roughly forty-five minutes before he starts to reach critical condition,” Allura announced, eyebrows furrowing as she  
took in Lance’s state. “We need to get him into a healing pod as quickly as we can.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Keith muttered, immediately regretting it when Allura turned to glare at him.

“What else do you expect me to say? It’s not like I can conjure a healing pod out of nowhere!” Allura rebuked angrily.

“I get that,” Keith said, angry at the team all of a sudden for how they had been treating Lance. “But you guys weren’t treating him properly before I came back! He told me about how you guys were acting around him, that isn’t what a team is supposed to be like! If he dies, he’s going to die thinking that he doesn’t fit in or belong on the team. He deserves better than that.”

“What are you talking about?” Pidge asked, turning away from Lance to stare at Keith.

“You guys were making fun of him,” He explained, gesturing to Pidge and Hunk. “You and Lotor always ignoring him,” He said to Allura. “He said he was almost always alone. When he wasn’t, he was on the outskirts of the team and had to either watch one of his friends pick another person over him or suffer his friends making fun of him. He shouldn’t have had to go through that!” Keith yelled, all the anger he had bottled up coming out. “He told me about how isolated he was. I hope he doesn’t die, for so many reasons, but especially because he will die thinking that none of you actually valued him.” Keith took a deep breath, his hand clutching Lance’s even tighter. Lance’s breathing was getting more and more shallow. Keith hoped Coran would come back soon, giving them coordinates to the nearest planet with a working medbay.

“I . . . I had no idea he felt that way,” Allura whispered. Keith met her eyes, noticing that she was crying. Her gaze shifted back to Lance’s pained expression. “I had no clue.” She sniffled.

Pidge and Hunk looked guilty and worried. Keith figured it served them right. They could apologize to Lance later. He deserved to hear an apology after all that he went through.

“I found a planet,” Coran announced, returning to the cockpit. “We need to move him to a working lion and fly him there as quickly as possible, they’re setting up a healing pod right now.”

“Let’s take him in Blue,” Keith decided. “Allura can pilot and I’ll watch over him in the back.”

Shiro nodded. “I’ll stay here with Coran and Hunk to try and get Black and Red back in working order.”

“Help us carry him to Blue first?” Keith asked. “We need to disrupt him as little as possible.”

They all stood around Lance, trying to determine which way would be the best way to transfer him to Blue. They came to the conclusion that Keith would hold his head, Allura his uninjured shoulder and Shiro his injured shoulder. Hunk would support Lance’s midsection, with Coran and Pidge supporting his legs.

They started to move him the short distance. Even though it was only a few meters, the distance felt much longer with Lance. They were all being as careful as possible, which resulted in them all moving slowly with the most care possible.

Lance started to stir, groaning and moving his uninjured arm. Allura kept a firm grip regardless, not allowing herself to lose her grasp.

“Keith,” Lance breathed, eyes fluttering open as he stared above. He found Keith, no doubt confused as to what was happening. “Where . . . are we . . . going?” Lance struggled to get the words out.

“Shh,” Keith soothed, trying to keep Lance as calm as he could. He needed to preserve his energy. “We’re bringing you to Blue, we’re going to go to a planet that has a healing pod. You’ll be back to normal in no time. I promise.”  
“I’m holding you . . . to it, Mullet,” Lance rasped, closing his eyes once more and allowing himself to be carried to Blue. They finally made it after a few more minutes. Lance was gently placed in Blue’s small bed. Keith stood over him, making sure he was as secure and comfortable as he could be.

“Taking off now,” Allura yelled back to Keith, alerting him to brace for take-off.

“Don’t worry about me, just go as fast as you can!” He yelled back, holding onto Lance to keep him from moving. They sped off towards the planet. Lance’s breathing was getting more and more shallow. Keith started praying once moe, Lance had to hold on. They had made it this far, he was so close to getting to see his family again. Keith couldn’t let him die now. Keith tried to keep himself from crying.

“We’re here!” Allura yelled as she docked. Once she was properly in position she rushed back to help Keith move Lance off the sip and onto the awaiting stretcher. Keith held Lance’s top half, Allura held his bottom half. They carried him down onto the stretcher where the doctors took over from there. Allura and Keith followed behind the doctors, making sure that Lance wasn’t being mistreated in anyway. Keith knew that they probably wouldn’t hurt him at all, but he was still hesitant to completely trust the alien doctors with the person he loved most.

Wait - loved most? When had that happened?

Keith made a mental note to himself to figure that out later and rushed to Lance’s side as they hooked him up to go into the pod. Keith grasped Lance’s hand once more, scanning Lance’s face one last time before he would be frozen in sleep.

“Hey, Lance,” He opened his eyes, his face relaxing slightly when he saw Keith. “You’re going to be fine, I promise. Once you come out of the pod we’ll go home, you’ll get to see your family.”

“Already . . . there,” Lance said, squeezing Keith’s hand. “Family.” Keith pressed a quick kiss to his forehead, reluctantly letting go of Lance’s hand as they put him into the pod. Keith tried to resist crying once more. This was the most he had cried in a day since he was a small kid. Allura came to stand besides him, both of them staring at the pod that now held Lance.

“He’ll be okay,” She said. “I’m sure of it.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Keith agreed. “But he had to go through so much pain. He hid how much pain he really was in. I didn’t realize he had an infection until a day ago, it wasn’t until he woke up screaming in pain that I knew something was wrong.”

Allura turned to look at Keith, his face somber. “He tends to hide how he’s really feeling to save others pain. It’s just what he does.”

“He shouldn’t have to,” Keith gritted out. “He should know that we’re all here for him.”

“I should have paid more attention to him before,” Allura said regretfully. “I had no idea he felt so ignored and alone. We should have done better.”

“We’ll get another chance,” Keith said. “He’ll pull through.”

*

Keith’s eyes were burning. Which wasn’t that surprising, as he hadn’t slept in nearly 36 hours. He had been staked out in front of Lance’s pod, his attention almost never leaving Lance’s sleeping figure. He had been in there for approximately 19 hours - close to a whole Earth day. Keith knew he needed sleep, but he couldn’t find it in himself to leave. He had a responsibility to Lance. He had made a promise to keep him alive and well. He wasn’t going to risk anything happening to him just because he was tired. If Shiro couldn’t accept that, then Shiro would have to learn to deal with that.

He wasn’t alone in the medical bay. Hunk passed out in one of the unused medical beds. He was also insistent on staying. Keith figured it was probably due to the guilt he knew he had. Pidge was curled up on the floor next to Hunk’s bed. She had built herself a small bed on the floor, falling asleep a few hours ago. Keith knew that the team was probably exhausted. They went from fighting a battle to tirelessly searching for Keith and Lance to finding them, only to end up with a half-dead friend and a trip to the nearest friendly planet’s medical bay. The whole team was probably feeling the never ending exhaustion.

Coran was on a snack run - something he considered to be very important. Keith wasn’t going to stop him from bringing him a snack or two. He had barely ate when they were on the planet to help conserve food for Lance. Now, he could eat. It was one of the few things Keith could do while still maintaining an eye on Lance.

Allura and Shiro were on the side opposite from Keith, huddled in a corner. He knew that they were probably talking about him. It didn’t concern Keith as much as it normally would. Let them talk.

Shiro was probably talking about how concerned he was about Keith not sleeping. Allura was probably sharing his concern, as well as talking about how to make sure that the whole Lance - Being - Ignored - And - Kind - Of - Bullied incident didn’t happen again. Shiro’s thoughts would mirror Allura’s thoughts and they would probably end of up with group therapy and a powerpoint presentation on how to treat your friends right. Keith was looking forward to it with enthusiasm.

He didn’t really care that they were concerned about his problems. If anything, he was a little mad that they weren’t more concerned about Lance. And now Shiro was coming toward him, fuck.

“Hey, Keith?” Shiro asked tentatively. He slowly sat next to Keith, probably scared that he would move to quickly and scare him off, like a wild animal or something. The thought almost amused Keith. “You need to sleep at some point.”

Ah, so Shiro wasn’t going to beat around the bush at all. Great. “I can’t go to sleep while I know that he is in there, Shiro. I just can’t do it.” Keith explained, hoping that Shiro would get the hint and leave him alone.

Shiro’s face softened. Keith took his focus off of Lance for a brief moment to really take in Shiro’s appearance. Shiro was actually back, even though he had died. Other than the hair, you wouldn’t have been able to guess that Shiro had been stuck in the consciousness of the black lion. Keith himself could hardly believe it, and he he had been there when Allura revived Shiro. Keith had missed his brother. It was good to have him back.

Keith thought about his childhood for a moment. Meeting Voltron and his mother had drastically changed how he perceived his familial bonds. But one thing was certain, Shiro would always be Keith’s brother. He was the one who got him out of foster care. Keith could still clearly remember the day that Shiro came to the foster home he was living at. It was no secret that Keith had anger management issues, you could practically look at Keith and figure it out. But Shiro still had had faith in him. That had meant more than anything.

Shiro enlisted him in the Galaxy Garrison, where he had been taught and had later worked. Keith’s life wouldn’t exist like it did today if it wasn’t for Shiro. Maybe it wouldn’t exist anymore at all. Shiro was the first person that Keith told he was trans, the first person that he told he was gay, the first person who never deserted him. It had all come crashing down with Kerberos, but Keith knew that their relationship was only stronger now. He knew that Shiro would never intentionally leave him, ever.

“Why can’t you sleep? Is your insomnia acting up?” Shiro asked, placing a hand on Keith’s back. Keith shook his head before leaning into the touch, desperate for comfort from his older brother, especially now. He rested his head against Shiro’s shoulder, quickly closing his eyes for longer than a blink before readjusting to Lance.

“I don’t want to leave him alone,” Keith muttered, noticing how sluggish his brain felt. Speaking took a lot of effort. Did it normally take this much effort? “What happens if he wakes up and I’m asleep? Or not there? He might be scared.”

“Well, I don’t think he’ll wake up anytime soon. He still has a lot of healing that needs to happen before he can wake up,” Shiro explained. Dammit, he was using reasoning and logic. He knew that would make Keith listen. “Why don’t you sleep for a few hours?”

“I don’t know if I can,” Keith whispered, begging himself to not cry again. How fucking weak was he? A few minutes with his brother and all of a sudden he was emotional mess? He didn’t think so. “He can’t be alone, not again.”  
“Keith,” Shiro said softly, probably taking notice of how weary Keith truly was. He knew he was vulnerable and he was going to use it against him. “What would Lance want? You know that you wouldn’t be leaving him alone. You can sleep right here. Lance would want you to rest.”

“But,” Keith knew that the argument was lost and he would soon be dozing in a pile of pillows. “Please don’t leave him alone, Takashi. Being alone is the worst feeling.”

Shiro readjusted and wrapped his arm around Keith. He squeezed him tightly for a moment before dropping his head on top of Keith’s. “I promise that neither of you will ever be alone again. Will you sleep now?”

Keith gave in and nodded, pushing himself away from Shiro and laying flat on the ground in front of him. “I’ll get you a blanket and some pillows,” Shiro walked away and returned a few moments later. Keith was nearly asleep by the time he returned. “Do you mind if I sleep next to you?” Keith shook his head, grabbing the biggest pillow and putting it under his face. Shiro draped a blanket over him before laying on his back beside Keith.

“Sweet dreams, Keith.”

*

Keith awoke feeling like a fully functioning being again. He hadn’t felt like that in a really long time. Shiro had disappeared, as had everyone else. They were probably eating dinner or lunch or whatever meal that must’ve been on by now. Keith’s perception and knowledge of time had been completely destroyed since he had been flung down onto that planet with Lance. It would probably take a while to feel like a normal person again.

Keith moved his blankets around, creating a space that he could sleep in more easily. He was still in front of Lance’s pod, which was all that mattered.

It was probably obvious that Keith loved Lance. His feelings towards Lance were so strong and loud, he was sure that everyone had picked up on them by now. Keith didn’t really mind. His expression always gave away too much of his feelings. He hadn’t ever learned how to control his face. Shiro had, Allura definitely had, but Keith hadn’t. He probably wouldn’t ever learn how to hide. He was finally learning that it was okay to show and tell how you felt.

Which is what he was planning to do.

Once Lance woke up, Keith was going to be admitting everything he could. How he had a crush on him, realized it was more, and then left. Like an idiot. He thought he was protecting Lance. Joining the Blade was what worked for him the best at the time. Voltron wouldn’t have an extra paladin, he was useful on missions, and he could search for his mother. It seemed like the smartest option.  
Once Lance woke up, Keith would confess. He would explain to Lance about how he had a crush on him, how it had only been strengthened on the planet. Keith would explain that he didn’t mean to make Lance uncomfortable in any way, he could back off if Lance wanted him to.

Keith just figured that he should tell Lance. He deserved to know and Keith deserved to get it off his chest.

Keith looked up to Lance’s pod. He adored him. He was so lucky and blessed to have him in his life. He hoped that Lance felt the same, but in the end Keith was just grateful that he had been blessed enough to know Lance the way that he has.

*

Keith was finally wrestled away into the dining hall once everyone realized that he had woken up. Shiro had come back into the medical bay to find Keith gazing up at Lance. He had to him away, practically kicking and screaming.

“Shiro, let go of me!” Keith yelled as Shiro grab him under his armpits and started dragging him toward the dining hall. “He’s going to wake up soon! I have to be there!”

“Keith,” Shiro sighed, still dragging him down the hall. “You need to eat a proper meal. It’s been literal days. You’re wasting away.”

“I slept last night!” Keith argued. “What more do you want?”

“To you to take care of yourself for once in your fucking life?” Shiro responded, pulling Keith more forcefully. That wasn’t good. Shiro only swore when he was seriously pissed.

“Fine,” Keith gave in, not wanting to disappoint Shiro anymore. “But I’m eating quickly and then going right back to the medical bay.”

“Fair enough,” Shiro answered. “Hunk, Pidge, and Coran are heading to the medical bay right now. They’re going to stay there so that Lance won’t wake up alone.”

“Okay,” Keith said, feeling relieved that Lance would be far from alone if he woke up when Keith was gone. “Let’s go eat.”

They arrived at the dining hall, it was actually quite similar to what the Castle’s dining hall looked like. Keith felt a pang of sadness when he realized that he would never see the castle again. The whole team had so many memories in the ship. Keith allowed himself a moment to grieve for the ship before he turned to Allura at the table. She was talking with the native aliens of the planet they were staying on. Keith realized that he had probably been a terrible guest by not talking to any of the aliens but he mentally excused himself. His teammate had been dying. He had been a little bit preoccupied.

He took a seat at the table, thanking the alien who placed the food before him. He realized just how hungry he truly was in that moment. Keith seriously hadn’t eaten in at least 3 days. He started to quickly eat.

“Keith, slow down!” Allura warned when she noticed what Keith was doing. “You’ll get sick if you eat too fast!”

Keith held up a finger, gesturing for a moment before he would talk. “Sorry,” He said, swallowing. “I’m just really hungry. Didn’t realize.” He caught the tailend of one of Shiro’s eyerolls, a staple in his life with Shiro. Keith smiled to himself, starting to eat again, this time slower. Still, the majority of his food was gone in a matter of minutes.

All of sudden, Hunk came running into the dining hall. “He’s awake!” Hunk screamed, grabbing the attention of everyone. “He’s awake!”

Keith quickly abandoned his food, running after Shiro and Allura to the med bay. When they arrived, Lance was reclining on a bed, Coran and Pidge fussing over him. His arm looked good as new except for the knotted scar tissue on the front of his shoulder.

“Pidge, Pidge, I’m fine,” Lance said, sleep still evident in his voice. Keith paused in the door of the med bay. He couldn’t believe Lance was here, he was awake. He was really awake. Keith was so scared that he would never get to see Lance alive again. “Give me a minute.”

Pidge did the opposite of what Lance wanted, collapsing into Lance’s side. Keith was pretty sure that she was crying, as was the majority of the team. Pidge’s head resurfaced from Lance’s chest.

“Lance,” She breathed, her eyes puffy and red. “I’m so sorry. Me and Hunk didn’t realize how terribly we treated you. I’m so sorry.” She started crying even harder, rubbing at her eyes.

“Hey,” Lance said softly, bring his good arm to the side of her face. “It’s okay, Pidgeon. You can make it up to me by listening to my lovesick troubles and rubbing my feet.”

“I will never rub your feet, you stinky buffoon,” Pidge retorted, starting to calm down. Lance laughed slightly. Keith inched closer to where everyone was standing around his bed.

“We’re really sorry, buddy,” Hunk said, coming to stand behind Pidge and rest a hand on his shoulder. “I promise it’ll never happen again. I’ll make it up to you.”

Lance smiled. He was so forgiving. Keith admired him so much. “Don’t sweat it, dude. You guys are my family, it was bound to happen at some point.”  
Hunk shook his head, silently accepting that Lance was really too forgiving for everyone’s good.

“I am sorry too, Lance,” Allura spoke up. “I didn’t mean to ignore you at all. I should have been more sensitive of your feelings.”

“Princess,” Lance sighed, clearly getting tired of all the apologies. Why was he so forgiving? Keith had no clue. “You were busy. Don’t blame yourself.”

“Still,” Allura shook her head. “You deserved better.”

He shrugged, obviously unsure of how to respond to the onset of apologies. Keith stepped closer to Shiro, finally at the foot of Lance’s bed.

“Keith,” Lance breathed. All of his attention had been placed onto Keith. Keith struggled to not fold in on himself. It was hard to be the only subject of Lance’s unrelentingly soft gaze. “There you are.”

“Hi,” Keith said softly, unsure of what to really say. So much had happened to them and between them. It was a lot to adjust in such a short period of time, especially when one of them was close to death and in a healing pod.

“How are you?” Lance lead, a hint of a smile on his face.

“That’s what you’re leading with?” Keith asked, smiling. “I’m pretty good. Doing better than I was before.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Lance said. He was smiling so brightly now, Keith thought he was going to die from that alone. “I’m feeling better, too.”

“That’s fantastic,” Keith said truthfully, smiling so wide now he felt like his face just might split open.

“This is disgusting,” Pidge said, glancing between them.

“Pidge, that’s homophobic,” Lance disappointedly said, shaking his head. “I raised you better than that.”

“I’m a whole ass lesbian, you idiot,” Pidge remarked.

“You have to wait a solid 3 to 5 business days before you can insult me again,” Lance explained. “I’m still recovering.”

Pidge sighed, leaving the room. The rest of the team trailed behind her, joking about how Lance was surely fine now that he was back to teasing. Keith stayed, still standing at the edge of Lance’s bed.

“Hi, again,” Lance said jokingly. “How have you been, seriously this time. I know how self-destructive you can be.”

Keith shrugged, bringing himself to Lance’s side. “Shiro got me to take care of myself two separate times. I’d say that is pretty impressive.”

Lance let out a light snort, grabbing Keith’s hand and dragging him into the bed with him. “Are you okay?”

“You’re asking me that?” Keith raised his eyebrows, laying himself on his side. Lance readjusted and mirrored him. They were just staring into each other’s eyes, one of the gayest things Keith had ever done. “How are you?”

Lance shrugged. “I’m tired, but Coran said that I should be back to usual in a few days. My shoulder doesn’t hurt anymore, which is really good. That’s a relief.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about your shoulder, you jerk,” Keith said, closing his eyes and resting his head on Lance’s shoulder. He freaked out internally for a moment, worried that he did something wrong, before Lance stretched his good arm around Keith’s back.

“What did I say about insulting me?” Lance joked, his head coming to rest on Keith’s.

Keith hummed, thankful to have Lance back and joking. “I get to ignore that because I haven’t wronged you. If anything, I’ve only gooded you.”

“That is not a thing,” Lance retorted.

“It is now, deal with it,” Keith responded, smiling against Lance’s skin. He never put a shirt back on after Coran finished his check-up. Keith was suddenly realizing how much of Lance’s skin was on display. He was freaking out. “I missed you. We talked so much on the planet and then you were gone, possibly forever.”

“I was out, but I promise I missed you too,” Lace said. He was so warm. Keith was melting. “Is it bad that I’m kind of glad that we got stuck there?”

“Why are you glad?” Keith asked, genuinely curious.

“I feel like I got to know a different side of you,” Lance explained. “It was just us, talking. It was nice.”

“Until you nearly died,” Keith interjected.

“Until I nearly died,” Lance agreed. His arm squeezed tighter around Keith. Keith hummed. “Forgive me for being blunt, but I had a crush on you. You’re who I was talking about back on that planet. I figured I should tell you.”

“You had? You don’t anymore?” Keith could feel his heart sinking in his chest. His tone of voice reflected that. He hoped that Lance didn’t notice how dejected he sounded.

“I did - I do!” Reassured Lance. “But I think it’s stronger now. I think I fell in love with you on that planet. You were so open and caring, how could I not fall completely in love with you?”

“What a shitty planet to fall in love on,” Keith said, voice breaking from how happy Lance’s confession made him. “It looked like a desert and it was always morning. You could’ve picked better.”

“Like I control my feelings!” Lance rebutted, laughing.

“You obviously just need more practice!” Keith said, joining in with his laughter. It was the sweetest sound in the world. He didn’t want it to ever end.

“Shut up, you repressor!” Lance joked, laughing even more.

“I don’t do that anymore, thank you very much. I’m a changed person now,” Keith smiled bashfully. “Partly because of you.”

“Aww,” Lance cooed. “So, Keith, I feel like it may be obvious, but do you, uh, feel the same?” Keith raised his head, looking at Lance’s face. He looked so hesitant that Keith might not return his feelings. If Keith wasn’t already so far gone he would be by now.

“Of course,” Keith promised, smiling. “I think I beat you though. I’ve had a crush on you since the Garrison.”

“You’re turning everything in a competition?” Lance questioned, his face lighting up. “When did you get a crush on me at the Garrison?”

“Almost as soon as I saw you,” Keith admitted, blushing a little when he realized what he was confessing to.

“You might actually have me beat,” Lance said. “But not by much.” Keith smiled, hiding his face in Lance’s neck when he said that. “So, where do we go from here? Boyfriends?”

“You say that so casually,” Keith commented. He was trying to calm his racing heart before Lance realized. “I would love to be your boyfriend.”

“Oh, what a mood,” Lance said. Keith chuckled, reaching up to gently bat his face away.

“You ruined the moment,” Keith complained, still smiling. Lance laughed, his head returning to its place on Keith’s. They both soon fell into a warm sleep.

*

“Should we wake them up?” Allura said, her voice quiet. “They’ve been sleeping for a while, they are probably hungry for dinner.”

“What if we wake them up and they have a gay crisis when they realize how close they are to each other?” Pidge chimed in, joking.

“Do you think they know they’re cuddling?” Hunk asked, nervously. “I know Lance is cuddly but I don’t know about Keith.”

“It wouldn’t kill him to touch another human being for once,” Shiro commented.

Keith started to stir. He was a light sleeper, especially after going through war. He was sure that Lance would follow soon. One could the team for so long before they were forced to join the conversation.

Keith opened his eyes, glaring at Shiro for that comment. He closed his eyes again, snuggling into Lance’s hold even more. He wasn’t touch-repulsed like Shiro was implying. He was perfectly fine, thank you very much. He heard Shiro playfully gasp. Keith smiled.

Lance started to wake up, evident by the low groan he let out and the way he stretched his previously injured arm. His head moved from its perch on Keith head, his arm loosening from around Keith’s waist. Keith mourned the loss but took the opportunity to move into a sitting position. He was still extremely close to Lance, but he still felt like he had moved miles away from him. Lance slowly opened his eyes, finding Keith’s face on instinct.

“Good morning,” Lance said, still in the clutches of sleep.

“I think it’s actually late evening,” Keith teased, smiling down at Lance, uncaring that the whole team of Voltron was watching their interaction.

“Fuck you,” Lance said playfully. “Let me wish you a good morning.”

“Good morning, Lance,” Keith responded, leaning into kiss Lance on the cheek.  
“Good morning,” Lance repeated, bringing his hand to the back of Keith’s neck and guiding his mouth to his. He tasted like strawberries and Keith realized that he must applied chapstick after Keith fell asleep.

“Hey, quick question,” Pidge voiced. “What the fuck is going on?”

Lance and Keith broke their kiss to stare at Pidge. Keith dissolved into laughter, Lance following his lead soon after, pulling Keith even closer than before.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment if you enjoyed! I would love to hear your thoughts!


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